MadFriars Daily Farm Report: June 18

Kevin Charity

06/18/2015

Thursday was a historic day in the Padres’ minor league system, as the Tri-City Dust Devils made their debut as the new short-season affiliate for San Diego. Tri-City failed to start their new relationship with a victory, but El Paso and Lake Elsinore were able to come up with wins, thanks in part to prodigious outbursts of offense.

Prospect Watch: The Chihuahuas trailed 6-1 at one point, before winning on a walk-off single by embattled infielder Jedd Gyorko … Cody Decker had his third four-hit game of the year, which included a pair of doubles. The utility slugger is having another monster campaign in the PCL, with 12 homers and 42 RBI. Decker has an OPS approaching .900 and one would think this could be the season he gets the call to Petco Park, especially with former El Paso manager Pat Murphy at the helm in San Diego … Left fielder Alex Dickerson tied a season-high with four RBI, which came on a pair of two-run singles. Dickerson hadn’t had an RBI in his previous 10 games. Dickerson hasn’t flashed a home run stroke (he has only five), but otherwise has had a solid 2015 in El Paso. The 25-year-old is hitting .308/.378/.483 this season.

Prospect Watch: The Missions split a doubleheader against Midland, although they did it with little offense … RHP Colin Rea continued his remarkable season by pitching five shutout innings in the first game. Rea is currently tied for the best ERA in the Texas League with a pristine 1.18 ERA in 10 starts. Rea has only walked nine batters in 61 innings, in addition to allowing just a single home run.

Prospect Watch: The Storm opened up a series in Lancaster by swatting a pair of home runs in the win … First baseman Marcus Davis had one of those homers, his first since May 12th. Davis has been on a tear in the month of June, as he is hitting .344/.427/.475, with five extra-base hits, including the homer. Davis is also displaying a keen eye at the plate, with nine walks in 70 plate appearances this month … RHP Kyle Lloyd defied the baseball gods by only allowing two runs, while walking seven in five innings of work. The loss of command seems like an aberration from Lloyd, since the righty hasn’t walked more than three in any start this season. Lloyd still flashed his trusted splitter, with six strikeouts in five innings.

Prospect Watch: Fort Wayne scored three runs in the first two innings to avoid the three-game sweep … Closer Colby Blueberg has quietly had an impressive season in Fort Wayne. The 24th round pick in 2014 features a fastball that sits in low 90’s and an above average slider. The 22-year-old out of Nevada has a 1.25 ERA in 21.2 innings. Opposing Midwest League batters are hitting just .123 against the right-hander … RHP Chris Huffman allowed just an unearned run in his five innings of work to earn his third win of the year. Huffman, 22, was drafted in the 14th round in 2014, out of James Madison. Huffman has bounced back and forth between the TinCaps rotation and bullpen and owns a 2.86 ERA in 34.2 innings for Fort Wayne.

Prospect Watch: : The Dust Devils allowed a pair of late runs to lose their first game as a Padres affiliate … Former SDSU infielder Ty France started at first and had his first professional hit, a single. France was drafted in the 34th round by San Diego this month … RHP Walker Lockett started the game and pitched well, allowing just one run in five innings. Lockett, 21, was the Padres’ 4th rounder back in 2012. He opened the year in Fort Wayne, and pitched to a 7.98 ERA in four starts. He will be given the opportunity to be the ace on the Dust Devils’ staff.